football

Charlie Weis has relinquished offensive coordinator duties to two of his Kansas assistants. After ranking 112th in offense last year and managing 119th this season, he is turning the passing game over to Ron Powlus and the running game to Jeff Blasko. Weis realized the team would not get better with him running the offensive, this despite his long, self-touted schematic advantage that he brings to the table.

SLIGHT MOD EDIT: The thread can stand, but the gratuitous and irrelevant (and in one case, misleading - "dies of obesity" made me think Weis had passed for a moment) references to Weis' weight have been removed to ensure that the discussion is a little more on-track. - LSA

Chris Green isn't one of the big-time names we hear a lot about from the 2015 class but he is being very closely monitored by the coaching staff.

Coach Hecklinski was in Central Catholic High School in Toledo last week to speak to the stocky inside linebacker about taking a trip to Ann Arbor within the next few weeks for a game. With such a short drive Green fully intends to make that trip happen. If he decides to attend a game it would be his first time taking in a contest at The Big House. Green has been on campus before however, for a four-day camp where he said he really enjoyed the experience and learned a lot from the coaching staff.

For a junior in high school Green has a respectable offer list already consisting of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Penn State, Toledo, and Western Michigan. Penn State has an early lead for him and unfortunately for Michigan he was in attendance last Saturday for "The Debacle". He left Happy Valley saying he was really impressed and absolutely loved the vibe. However he did say that Michigan would be right up there if he enjoys his visit and receives an offer.

On film Green reminds me of James Ross. He has a very similar build at 6'1", 225 lbs. and that height stigma might be why he doesn't have more big boy offers. He has a nose for the ball, comes downhill and fills gaps, and makes a big impact on ball carriers when he gets to them. He will be a name to watch, especially if he heads to Ann Arbor within the next few weeks.

Warning: this is long, tl;dr people can skip. It's also me on a soap box. People that don't want that can skip, but I'm up here and I'm going to start talking. I've grown a pretty mean mustache and can talk like Ron Swanson, so for the rest, it's time to be quiet and listen (or at least read until the end).

In many circles, mgoblog is well known for its fairly well documented herd mentality, which is understandable to a degree. But things that have happened on this board and in the comments the past few days have seemed more akin to mlive than they have to this board. I've often played devil's advocate throughout my life, not because I want to be against the grain necessarily, but because I find it helps me at least come closer to the truth of the topic. Others haven't, and they don't deserve the treatment they are getting from a lot of this board.

I haven't seen it directly, but I'm sure people have at least thought of me as a "Borges apologist". That's fine if you want to think that. I know for a fact that most others that have even sniffed at passive support or defense of Borges have been called it. That's the definition of a straw man. That's pointing out that someone has a different opinion than you and that it inherently makes them incorrect. I've seen numerous times people trying to bring relevant, only for the majority herd to group up on the person with the differing opinion. That’s weak. It’s stymies discussion. It stymies understanding. It stymies this blog.

On a different but related note…

“Fat arrogant fuck.” That’s about as tame as it’s been at times the past couple days. It’s not that my ears are sensitive to that language, because I was a kid once and thought I was cool and tough and said things much worse than that. But it’s just that, childish. These are puerile comments that have never been allowed on this blog, not about any coach, player, or coordinator, and suddenly being allowed en masse. Talk about an mlive culture. Talk about not only degrading to the staff that is working hard to make you happy, but degrading the blog that we’re using to vent. I get it, you’re angry, you want to vent. But do so with reason, with actual thought, not like a bunch of drunks. I’m sure there a drunk blogs for that sort of thing (seriously, I’m sure there are, but it’s probably easier to stay away from those). I’m getting tired of sifting through a ton of turd-burgling, shit-spewing, hot garbage comments like these, that contain nothing new, informative, and meaningful, just so I can try to have a meaningful discussion about something in between it.

This post really isn’t about me. I know I’m on the other side of the tidal force here, but I’ve build up enough blog credibility that my pseudonym is likely to stay intact. But to act this way to others that are putting some credibility, and likely some sort of enjoyment they can get out of being a Michigan fan and discussing with other fans and being a part of this community on the line only to get mobbed, well… that sucks.

I’ll probably get called a “Borges apologist” rather quickly in this thread. I, like Borges, will also probably fairly quickly get called some sort of insult as well (“why can’t we say it if it’s the truth?”). That’s fine, as defined by playground/man code, that’s deserved. But if it starts here with some of those comments and ends here with those types of comments, then at least the board will be somewhat more readable and hopefully much more enjoyable for the majority of people then what it’s become the past few days. It’s not going to be happy, because Michigan didn’t win, but it doesn’t have to be this.

Magnuson impressed enough in fact that Michigan coach Brady Hoke says the 6-foot-6, 285-pounder is firmly in the mix and getting reps at left guard in practice.

“A little bit,” Hoke said of Magnuson’s work at left guard. “He hasn’t done it a lot but he’s a really athletic guy and he did some good things the other night that warrant trying to get the best five on the field.”

Redshirting a year ago to add weight to his slender frame, Magnuson has made significant strides in adding enough weight to get on the football field.

But if Hoke has his way, Magnuson will be even stronger when it’s all said and done.

“He’s got a quickness to him,” Hoke said. “He’s got good feet. That’s why we recruited him as a left tackle, because of his athleticism.

“What has kept him away from it as much as anything is he needs strength gains and unlike some of the guys, a guy like Kyle Bosch, who’s been in the weight room a lot -- Kyle wasn’t exactly a three sport athlete. Mags played lacrosse also so the lifting and all that kind of stuff.”

Asked whether or not he envisions any changes to the starting lineup on the offensive line this week against Indiana, Hoke left open that possibility.